THE OTHER FAB FOUR - Mary McGlory and Sylvia Saunders


I'd heard about this book (probably on NPR) and I rushed to get a copy.  The first female rock band? Got their start at The Cavern Club about the same time as the Beatles? Like the Beatles, also from Liverpool? Like the Beatles, played the Star-Club in Hamburg? Hung out with the likes of The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and Jimi Hendrix? How did I not know about this band?!

Well, the answer to that becomes pretty obvious through the course of the book (they rose to fame and stayed mostly in Germany, and they were primarily a cover band), but the journey that these Birds took was quite extraordinary.

This memoir/biography is told by the two surviving members of the group, the bass player and drummer (Mary McGlory and Sylvia Saunders, respectively) (ironically, the surviving Beatles are also the drummer and bass player). The chapters alternate between Mary and Sylvia, taking us through the start of the band, the early years, the success, and the eventual break-up of the group.  We get to know all the players, not just Mary and Sylvia, and it's nice that we get two different perspectives of the other two main players (Valerie Gell and Pamela Birch).

Their origin is almost laughable - only in the naive 60's could a group of girls who don't know how to play any instruments actually convince managers that they are a band. Even the decision on who should play which instruments is like something out of Pollyanna ... Sylvia's hands weren't big enough for a a guitar fret but they could hold a pair of drumsticks, so she became the drummer!

This book is packed full of music history as The Liverbirds were part of the British invasion, though, by choice, they went west rather than across the pond. The very unassuming style of storytelling by Mary and Sylvia really adds to the charm of their story. Where else can you read about a devout Catholic who plans on being a nun, even while earning a living playing rock and roll in Germany and getting such a reputation for rolling the best joints that even Jimi Hendrix is seeking her out?

I'm really surprised that I hadn't heard of the Liverbirds or their story. A short documentary was made by my favorite documentary filmmaker (Ben Proudfoot), and there's a stage musical of their story (called Girls Don't Play Guitars) that was first performed in 2019. I should have picked up on this much sooner.

Nonetheless, I'm familiar with it now and I really enjoyed the read.

Looking for a good book? The Other Fab Four by Mary McGlory and Sylvia Saunders is a truly interesting memoir from the hippest days of pop music, and it'll almost certainly have you scouring the internet for videos and recordings.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

4-1/2 stars

* * * * * *

The Other Fab Four

authors: Mary McGlory and Sylvia Saunders

publisher: Grand Central Publishing

ISBN: 9781538739969

hardcover, 336 pages

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